Human Interest
Longest-separated twins find each other─── 12:06 Fri, 02 May 2014
Portland - Imagine delving into your family history and discovering you have a twin. That's what happened to Ann Hunt, a 78-year-old, who had no idea she had a sibling at all until last year. Now she and twin Elizabeth Hamel have met for the first time since they were babies - setting a new world record.
"Lizzie, Lizzie, how lovely," said Ann when she finally got to hug her sister.
"How lovely to see you in the flesh," said Elizabeth.
Last April, Elizabeth, a 78-year-old from Portland, in the US state of Oregon, was shuffling through her mail when she saw a letter from Aldershot, UK - the town where she was born. "I saw Aldershot, ooh, I did a double-take on that," says Elizabeth. "I opened it up and looked at it, and my eyes popped out my head."
"I am writing to you as I am searching for a family connection," the letter began. Elizabeth knew exactly who this was about, and minutes later she was on the phone to the UK.
On the other end of the line was Ann, her long-lost twin sister. "I was over the moon, I couldn't speak," Ann says. "I let Elizabeth speak mostly, I had to pinch myself because I realised, I've got a sibling, a sister. It's so wonderful, I'm not on my own any more. I've got no words to say. I'm so happy - I have Elizabeth."
Unlike Ann, Elizabeth knew she had a sister.
"I've been praying for you for many years," she told Ann in that first conversation. Over the years she had made some attempts to trace her but without success. It seemed an impossible task. "I thought - being adopted, she could be anywhere in the world," Elizabeth says. "It was amazing to me that she was still in Aldershot."
They were separated at birth, and Ann was given up for adoption On 1 May 2014, a year after that first conversation and 78 years after they were separated, Ann and Elizabeth were reunited in Fullerton, near Los Angeles, on Thursday - the longest gap on record, Guinness World Records says.
They were invited to the city by Dr Nancy Segal, a psychologist who has been researching twins for more than two decades. Twins who have been brought up separately are of great interest to scientists examining inherited or genetic influences on behaviour. Segal will be looking for similarities and differences during a two-day study, and carrying out DNA analysis to establish whether they are identical or non-identical (fraternal) twins. "What was it in their life that caused the differences? If they're fraternal, it could be character as well as circumstance," Segal says.
"We want to get a comprehensive overview of their lives, their abilities, their interests, and put it all together as an important case study, because this is really the world's longest separated pair of twins."
The twins were born Elizabeth Ann Lamb and Patricia Susan Lamb on 28 February 1936, in Aldershot, UK. Their unmarried mother, Alice Alexandra Patience Lamb, was in service as a domestic cook. Their father's name was Peters and he was in the army - Aldershot has had a military base since 1854 - but he never saw his daughters.
Ann Hunt grew up in Aldershot as the only child of Hector Wilson and his wife Gladys, who worked as the manageress of the Post Office canteen. The Post Office boys always looked out for Ann.
BBC News
"Lizzie, Lizzie, how lovely," said Ann when she finally got to hug her sister.
"How lovely to see you in the flesh," said Elizabeth.
Last April, Elizabeth, a 78-year-old from Portland, in the US state of Oregon, was shuffling through her mail when she saw a letter from Aldershot, UK - the town where she was born. "I saw Aldershot, ooh, I did a double-take on that," says Elizabeth. "I opened it up and looked at it, and my eyes popped out my head."
"I am writing to you as I am searching for a family connection," the letter began. Elizabeth knew exactly who this was about, and minutes later she was on the phone to the UK.
On the other end of the line was Ann, her long-lost twin sister. "I was over the moon, I couldn't speak," Ann says. "I let Elizabeth speak mostly, I had to pinch myself because I realised, I've got a sibling, a sister. It's so wonderful, I'm not on my own any more. I've got no words to say. I'm so happy - I have Elizabeth."
Unlike Ann, Elizabeth knew she had a sister.
"I've been praying for you for many years," she told Ann in that first conversation. Over the years she had made some attempts to trace her but without success. It seemed an impossible task. "I thought - being adopted, she could be anywhere in the world," Elizabeth says. "It was amazing to me that she was still in Aldershot."
They were separated at birth, and Ann was given up for adoption On 1 May 2014, a year after that first conversation and 78 years after they were separated, Ann and Elizabeth were reunited in Fullerton, near Los Angeles, on Thursday - the longest gap on record, Guinness World Records says.
They were invited to the city by Dr Nancy Segal, a psychologist who has been researching twins for more than two decades. Twins who have been brought up separately are of great interest to scientists examining inherited or genetic influences on behaviour. Segal will be looking for similarities and differences during a two-day study, and carrying out DNA analysis to establish whether they are identical or non-identical (fraternal) twins. "What was it in their life that caused the differences? If they're fraternal, it could be character as well as circumstance," Segal says.
"We want to get a comprehensive overview of their lives, their abilities, their interests, and put it all together as an important case study, because this is really the world's longest separated pair of twins."
The twins were born Elizabeth Ann Lamb and Patricia Susan Lamb on 28 February 1936, in Aldershot, UK. Their unmarried mother, Alice Alexandra Patience Lamb, was in service as a domestic cook. Their father's name was Peters and he was in the army - Aldershot has had a military base since 1854 - but he never saw his daughters.
Ann Hunt grew up in Aldershot as the only child of Hector Wilson and his wife Gladys, who worked as the manageress of the Post Office canteen. The Post Office boys always looked out for Ann.
BBC News
Ann and Elizabeth in their 70's
Photo: BBC News
